Radioactive
by Crossroad Avarice
Summary: [Claire/Leon]
1. Chapter 1

**Rila:** I don't think I should have watched Resident Evil: Degeneration and thought I could get away without writing something for them. _I forgot how much I love them together_

Disclaimer: Claire/Leon would be canon if I had my way. Seriously.

Word Count: 905

* * *

"Thank-you for letting Rani come visit you."

"Not a problem." Shifting in her chair, Claire offered a small smile. "I've missed you guys."

"We've missed you too." Despite the fact that it was a video chat, the woman's smile lost none of its warmth. "Will you be coming back with Rani?"

Claire's smile dimmed. "Not just yet," she replied. "I'm still trying to work things out." Even nearly two months later, Claire was still reeling from the Wilpharma fiasco. It had floored her that Terra Save had been the reason for the breakout at the airport - for the loss of hundreds of lives. All because their idea of 'helping' had been backing Wilpharma into a corner. And even though the company had been found guilty of creating the virus in the first place, the guilt had yet to leave Claire.

"Come back when you're ready, Claire."

"Claire!" Rani's voice overlapped her aunt's, and Claire turned towards the young girl. Eyes bright with excitement, Rani continued, "Are you ready to go to the pool! You promised you would before I left!"

Claire blinked once, twice, then smiled. "I did, didn't I?" Rani nodded, and Claire's smile widened. "Give me just a minute to put my suit on, okay?"

"Okay!" With another childishly bright smile, Rani darted off. "Don't take too long, Claire!"

"I won't," Claire replied and then turned back towards the child's aunt. "Gotta go, I _did_ make a promise, after all."

Rani's aunt laughed. "Tell Rani I'll be there to pick her up tomorrow morning."

Nodding, Claire waited until the screen went black before shutting her laptop. Snatching up her swim suit from where it lay on her bed, Claire glanced outside.

This place is beautiful. I should enjoy this.

"Claire, are you ready?" Rani's impatient call snapped the young woman out of her thoughts, and she turned.

"Be there in a minute, Rani!"

* * *

Leaning back against the pillows that she and Rani had gathered onto a single bed, Claire watched the credits roll down the screen of the small television. After a hearty dinner downstairs, Claire had proposed the idea of a 'movie night', an idea that had been met with enthusiastic acceptance from Rani. The young girl was asleep now, hands curled by her face and head pillowed on Claire's lap.

Hand falling to Rani's head, Claire stroked the child's dark hair. It was hard to imagine that the child had already been through things others her age could never dream of - and it had been part of the reason that Claire had asked if Rani wanted to come visit her, if only to see how the young girl was doing in the aftermath. Rani's aunt had spoken in length about the nightmares that had kept the poor girl up in the weeks that had followed, though the nightmares had lessened out into the occasional fits of whimpering. Regardless, Claire had no doubts that the experience would have a lasting effect on Rani.

_bzzt. bzzt. bzzt._

The vibration of her phone made Claire turn to search for it, brow furrowing. _Who would call this late?_ It was well past midnight, and Claire squinted at the overly bright screen. A name flashed beneath the string of numbers, and Claire stared at it a moment longer before hitting the 'reject' button.

Placing the phone back at her side, Claire reached for the remote. It was far past time for her to be sleeping, and she reached for Rani.

_bzzzzt. bzzzt. bzzzt._

Her phone began vibrating again, the sound seeming to mirror the impatience of the man on the other end. No doubt it was something of importance if he were calling her - even more so if he found it necessary to do it in the middle of the night. Instead of hitting the button as she'd done before, Claire decided to ignore it all together.

_bzzzt. bzzzt. bzzzt._

"Claire?" Rani's sleepy mumble of her name brought the red-head's attention back to her companion, and she slid her hands under Rani's arms to pull her towards the pillows. Rani rubbed at her eyes. "What's that noise?"

_bzzzt. bzzzt. bzzzzt._

Claire swallowed and offered a small smile. "It's nothing, Rani. Go back to sleep." It didn't take any other sort of convincing, as Rani was quickly sleeping again, and Claire pulled the blankets up around her shoulders. Turning, Claire lifted her phone as it began ringing again, watching the name flash persistently, as if trying to coax her into answering.

_bzzzt. bzzzt. bzz-_ The vibrating stopped, and the name flashed a few more times before disappearing. Claire stared at her phone, fingers twitching with the sudden temptation to call him back - but that would have meant explaining why she'd ignored his calls. Swallowing hard, Claire shoved her phone beneath the pillows and lay down, closing her eyes. But sleep didn't come easy, 'what ifs' and guilt chasing each other around until at last, Claire fell into an uneasy sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**Rila:** Things speed up a bit in this chapter. :) Inspired by the fact that I now own _City of the Dead, _which is the novel version of RE 2. It's pretty darn awesome so far. *sips tea* Onward, shall we?

Disclaimer: _I wish I owned Resident Evil._

Word Count: 985

* * *

Early afternoon found Claire collecting her clothes and stuffing them back into her bags. Rani's persistent pleas for her to return with her had fallen on deaf ears until at last, Rani pulled out the trick that all children knew as a default — the puppy dog eyes. A master at it herself, Claire had managed to hold out for a solid amount of time before giving in, shoulders slumped as Rani smiled and threw skinny arms around the older woman.

The plane that Rani had been placed on, however, had been fully booked and the closest to it would not be leaving until early tomorrow. A minor set back, though it gave Claire enough time to pack her things and sort out her thoughts. There had been three missed calls on her phone when she'd woken, each deleted without another thought. A part of her was guilty at such a callous action, but another said that she was adamant in staying away from that sort of chaos.

_But after all he's done for me,_ she thought, biting her lip as she paused in her mechanical packing, _should I really be treating him like this? None of what happened was his fault._ Something inside her still clung like a petulant child to the fact that he'd expressed interest in that woman — quite open interest, as somewhere along the way, they'd kissed.

_Not my problem,_ Claire thought, but her stomach still twisted at the thought. It wasn't like she'd ever thought anything like that would happen between him and herself — after all, all they shared was a mutual 'survivor' status after the Raccoon City nightmare. Not exactly harlequin romance material — or even romance material at all.

The rolling grumble of Claire's stomach interrupted her thoughts, and she was grateful for the change in things to worry about. Abandoning her half-hearted attempts to stuff everything back into the bag, Claire made for the door, checking her phone as she did so.

_One missed call._

Leon's number was broadcasted beneath it in neon green lettering, and Claire shook her head as she shoved her phone into her pocket. Guilt won out — she'd call him while she was at lunch. The lobby was deserted as she made her way for the doors, rummaging in her other pocket for the keys of the rental car. It was quite a change from her motorcycle days, and she almost longed for the rumble of her Softail as it sped down the highway.

_What is with my trips down memory lane today?_ The concrete building of the hotel bled into trees that bordered either side of the road, and Claire watched for something that might offer something to settle her rumbling stomach. This was nothing like when she'd lived with her brother — they'd had a solid set of diners to choose from each night (because Chris couldn't cook worth a damn) and now that she was without her brother, there nothing that screamed 'comfort' to Claire.

The scream of tires against asphalt made Claire refocus in time to see a truck barreling towards her, and fear turned her blood to ice even as instinct had her slamming on the gas. Too late — she heard the impact seconds before she felt it, the shriek of metal as it buckled beneath the force and the shattering of glass. Claire brought her hands up to shield her face her car rolled and heard something crack as the airbag deployed.

With a final screech of metal against the highway, her car came to a halt. Her ears rang as silence settled in, and she became aware of the pain in her arm and the distant ache that enveloped the rest of her body. She was upside down, she realized, once adrenaline began to bleed from her body. She could feel it in the way her seatbelt pressed against her and the heaviness in her head. Reaching down, she fumbled with her seatbelt.

_Careful,_ she told herself and bit her lip to stifle a cry of pain as she found herself on her side on what should have been the top of her car. _Need to get out..._

Broken glass bit into the palms of her hands as she dragged herself forward, cringing at the fresh flare of pain that pulsed from her wrist. The scrape of her limbs against asphalt was a relief, and she lay on her back, savoring the cool air on her aching skin for a handful of moments. Her ears were still ringing, numbing the chaos that swarmed around her. The crash had brought traffic to a halt, and people were getting out of their cars, some frantically dialing for help.

The driver of the truck was leaning against his vehicle, in tact save for a large gash across his forehead. A concussion, perhaps, but nothing that couldn't be fixed at a hospital. _That's good,_ Claire thought distantly, and heard the vibration of approaching footsteps.

"...ou alright?" Her hearing went in and out, mincing the words of the worried man who knelt beside her. Gentle hands turned her head to the side, and a penlight flashed into her eyes. "Miss, can you..." Her hearing faded out and then back in. "...r me? An ambulence is on the way."

_Good. That man needs to be taken care of..._Claire had never been one for passing out, but she felt her vision darken around the edges, blotting out until the sound of sirens chased her into a painless slumber.


End file.
